Congratulations! It's a
by rookiegirl
Summary: Pete and Jillian are on the verge of becoming parents. While at home alone, Jillian goes into labor and can't get to the phone. When Pete and Jim stop to check on her, it's obvious that it won't be long. Will Pete have to deliver their baby himself?


These characters do not belong to me, they are only borrowed for the purpose of creating what I hope to be a piece of literary entertainment. I offer my thanks to the creators of the Adam-12 characters.

Congratulations! It's a…

© December 2009

_December 1__7, 1972; 1:42 p m …_

"_Okay, Jillian, with the next contraction, go ahead and give a big push. Let's get this little one born." Dr. Early's voice was calm and soothing as he spoke to her. She was scared and exhausted, but knowing that she was finally at the hospital and in good hands gave her a __small measure of comfort. Still, she wanted Pete here with her. When they had brought her into the emergency room, she was fully dilated and the baby's head had begun to crown. There wasn't time for a trip up to labor and delivery and so she was whisked into Treatment Room 3 while Pete had been detained at the desk to give the pertinent information. _

_Realizing that she and Pete were__ just mere minutes away from becoming parents, Jillian was wishing that Pete were in there with her. She knew her husband well enough to know that he was probably chomping at the bit to get in there as well. She also knew that the charge nurse would be lucky if she could decipher Pete's hastily penned chicken scratch. _

_Suddenly the door opened and Pete rushed in, __only to be ordered back out by Dixie. After a brief, frightened and pleading look from Jillian, Dr. Early gave the go ahead for Pete to scrub and gown up and come in. Dixie quickly ushered him out and helped him get ready. A few minutes later, he rushed back in, wearing a light blue hospital gown over his clothes. He also had on the traditional mask and hair cap that was required wear for the delivery room. The look on his face was a mixture of anxiousness and fear._

_Hurrying over to Jillian__'s side, Pete took the nurse's place near Jillian's shoulders. She reached out and grabbed his hand in a death grip as he leaned down and draped his arm over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "It's okay, Sunshine. I'm right here for you. I love you, Babe."_

_Jillian tightened her grip as the next contraction began to grab a hold, causing a lengthy, hard wave of pain that brought tears to her eyes. "AGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" She screamed and pushed. Barely finished pushing, the next contraction came right on the heels of the last. _

"_Push, Jillian…." Came Dr. Early's voice. "One more time…that a girl! Good…good."_

_Jillian squeezed a little harder on Pete's hand; he continued to whisper encouraging words into her ear as he supported her shoulders and back as she leaned into the push that would bring their child into the world._

"_Okay, Jillian, just relax now. You did great!" Dr. Early gave her and Pete a wide smile before saying, "Congratulations Mommy and Daddy, it's a …"_

* * *

_Earlier that morning…_

The morning started like any other morning, in which Pete was on the day watch shift; with Jillian at the stove, cooking Pete's breakfast, while Pete readied himself for work. She had just flipped the eggs when he sauntered into the kitchen and came up behind her, putting his arms around her. "G'morning Sunshine. How are you feeling? You had a pretty restless night."

"I'm sorry if I kept you awake, Honey. I didn't sleep too well. The baby was laying that weird way again and I kept waking up with a sharp pain shooting down my hip and into my leg. To make matters worse, the little jumping bean bounced on my bladder all night long, and my back hurts a little worse than it did last night."

"You know, maybe I should just call Mac and tell him that I can't come in today. Maybe we should go to the doctor and ask him about those shooting pains in your hip and leg, and the back pain; besides, maybe today will be the big day; after all, the doctor said mid-December." Pete had a concerned look on his face as he spoke and Jillian could tell that he was really concerned about how she would handle the labor and delivery. She was concerned too since she wasn't exactly crazy about the idea of wollering in pain for hours on end. The only thing that made the idea bearable was the fact that she and Pete would soon be welcoming their little one into the world.

"Pete, quit worrying. I don't mean to complain; I'm fine, really I am. The baby is just getting big and there's not a lot of room in there. That's why everything is so uncomfortable. Besides, I talked to John's wife and she said that she had shooting pains all throughout the later stages of her last pregnancy. Her doctor said it was because the baby was laying a certain way and pressing on a nerve. Nothing to worry about, just uncomfortable."

"But what about the back pain?"

"I probably just pulled a muscle or something; besides, I think back pain is a normal pregnancy thing, too."

"Still, I'd feel better if you asked the doctor about it."

"And I'd feel better if you'd quit worrying and sit down and eat your breakfast before it gets cold." Came Jillian's retort as she dished up Pete's food and set it down on the table. She poured a cup of coffee for the both of them and sat down across from Pete so that they could talk while he had his breakfast.

"Okay, okay…you win." Pete laughed and then said, "I guess I'd better enjoy this royal treatment of breakfast every morning, while it lasts, huh?" Pete commented.

Jillian gave him an inquisitive look, "What d'ya mean?"

"Well, with the baby due anytime now, you'll soon be too busy in the mornings to worry about breakfast. I just might have to get up a little earlier and treat you to breakfast in the mornings, little mama." Pete teased.

"Hmm…I've seen you in the kitchen, or rather seen the kitchen _after _you've been it, and I think I'd just better stick to being the one that cooks…even if I have to do it with our little papoose hanging from my hip." Jillian laughed.

Pete's expression suddenly took on a more serious look. He'd had the last seven months to mentally prepare for the role of being a dad, but suddenly, now that the magic moment was imminent, he felt totally unprepared. "Are you scared, Sunshine…about becoming a parent, I mean?"

Jillian was caught a little off guard by the question. Her usually calm, confident, and in charge husband suddenly looked a little nervous, vulnerable and unsure about the upcoming happy event. Her heart swelled with love for him as she reached out to take his hand in hers. She didn't want him know that she was terrified of not living up to the standards of parenthood that she'd been raised with, so she said, "Yes, Pete, I'm scared…not so much about becoming a parent as I am about the whole labor and delivery thing. I mean, I've been around little ones nearly my whole life so that doesn't worry me too much. It's all of the stories from my family, your mother, Jean, Leah, and April, that have me terrified. After listening to all of them, I just want the strongest knockout drug they can safely administer at the first sign of labor!"

Pete read between the lines and knew that she was mulling over the same thoughts that he was. He smiled and squeezed her hand, "Don't worry, Sunshine, you'll be fine, you'll see."

"And so will you Pete. You'll be a wonderful daddy and our baby will be very blessed to have you for a daddy…you'll see." She leaned over and kissed him lightly. "Now, finish up so you don't keep Jim waiting; you're picking him up today, remember?"

* * *

"Hey Pete…you're not a daddy yet? I figured that little woman of yours would've popped that kid out by now. She looked ready to burst two weeks ago when we helped you guys move. Isn't she due already?"

Pete cast a glance at the annoying Ed Wells, as he bent to tie his shoes. Straightening up, he answered, "You know Ed, only you would take something as special as having a baby and refer to it as 'popping out a kid.' You take tasteless tact to a whole new level."

"Why thank you, Pete. That means a lot to me; especially coming from you." Ed puffed his chest up like a cock in a hen house and strutted out of the locker room.

Jim laughed and turned to Pete, "He really thinks that you complimented him."

Pete had to laugh as well, "Well Jim, believe me when I say, for Ed Wells, that _was _a compliment!"

The partners finished getting ready and picked up their briefcases then headed to roll call. Mac was a stickler on starting roll call on time, and having everyone present and accounted for on time, as well.

Sitting side by side, Pete and Jim took notes on the previous shifts' happenings, as well as notes on the rash of grocery and liquor store robberies that had been taking place around the Los Angeles area. As usually happened around the holidays, the crime rate had been picking up at a steady rate, and though they always gave their best, every unit on the beat seemed to step up their patrol a notch or two during the holiday season.

With roll call over, Jim and Pete gathered their equipment and headed out to the patrol car, thoughts trained on the shift ahead. After their routine check over the exterior of the patrol car, Pete slid into the drivers' seat to get situated as Jim slipped into the passenger seat and cleared them for duty.

"How's Jillian?"

"Getting anxious."

"How are you?"

"Cool as a cucumber." Pete made a smooth wave with his hand.

"Yeah, right…I was too, the day Jimmy was born; remember?"

Pete cast him a sly smile, "How could I forget?"

"Awe c'mon, I wasn't _that_ bad, was I?"

"Let's just say that it was an…interesting day."

"Well, I'll be better with the next one; in the meantime, I'm gonna sit back and enjoy watching a 'cool cucumber' at his best."

Pete chuckled and said, "Speaking of the next one, Jillian said that Jean has been talking about wanting another one."

Jim smiled a mile wide, "Yeah, we've been talking about having another one…actually, we've been trying."

"Hey, that's great, Jim. How do you think Jimmy will react?"

"Well, at the rate we are going, he'll be over four by the time we have another one, so he should be okay. He'll have a lot of exposure to babies with spending time around yours and Jillian's little one, and sometimes he and Jean go over to Johnny and Aprils' for play dates."

_Beep, beep, beep…_

"_One Adam-12, One Adam-12, 211 in progress at the liquor store, 19478 W. Main; handle code three."_

"19478 W. Main; One Adam-12 copied and en-route." Jim acknowledged as Pete flipped on the lights and sirens. They were only about five blocks away and running hot.

"_One Adam-43 to One Adam-12."_

"One Adam-43, go."

"_We'll swing in from the east."_

"Copied that; we're approaching now."

Pete had killed the lights and sirens two blocks prior and as the partners pulled up, a tall white male in blue coat and tan pants came running out of the liquor store. As Jim dove out of the squad car and was ready to take off after the man, the suspect whirled around and fired off two shots, making Jim dive for cover in the doorway of the liquor store.

The owner of the liquor store ran up to the door and yelled at Jim, "Get up, he's getting away!"

"You okay?" Jim asked hastily.

"I'm fine! Quit wasting time and catch that jerk; he took all my money!"

The suspect had already turned back to the task of fleeing down the alleyway a half a block away. Jim jumped back into the police car and Pete pulled the cruiser into traffic, heading that way as well. Simultaneously, Jim was on the radio, giving out information to the other unit responding, as well as to any other patrol cars in the area.

Pulling into the alleyway, the officers visibly scanned the area from side to side. There was no sign of the suspect anywhere.

"Think he had a car waiting?" Jim mused.

"I wouldn't be surprised. We weren't that far behind him. My guess is that he had a getaway car waiting for him."

Jim picked up the mic, "One Adam-12 to the other units responding on the 211 at the liquor store on W. Main. We've lost the suspect in the alleyway a half a block west of the liquor store."

"_One Adam-43 copied."_

Pete turned the car around and headed back to the liquor store as Jim picked up the mic,

"One Adam-12 to Station, show us on follow-up at the liquor store."

"_Copied that, One Adam-12."_

Pete pulled the police car up to the curb in front of the liquor store. Both officers donned their hats as they got out and went into the business to gather information for their report.

The owner of the liquor store wasn't pleased to hear that the officers had not caught the suspect and recovered his money. After verbally lashing out at the officers for several minutes, he finally calmed down enough to give them a more accurate description, which Jim promptly put out on the air. From the sound of it, they were dealing with the same person that Mac had told them about in roll call.

Finished gathering the information, Pete and Jim headed back to their squad car and got in. Jim put out a supplemental on the description of the perpetrator as Pete pulled out into traffic.

"I sure wish we could catch that guy. I don't think I can take another tongue lashing like that last guy us. He acted like we let the guy get away on purpose." Jim commented in a disgusted voice.

"Just let it roll off of you, Jim. You've been in this job long enough to know that to the general public, _everything_ is a major tragedy, and when we can't fix it the way they want it fixed, then we are just as bad as the bad guys."

"Still, I sometimes wish that they could walk a day in our shoes; see things from our angle, ya know?"

Pete let out a small sigh, "Yeah, I know."

His reply had sounded a little distant to Jim, so Jim commented, "Earth to Pete…"

That seemed to snap Pete out of his thoughts, "What?" He asked.

"Where were you, man? You sounded like you were a million miles away. Oh wait, you're thinking about Jillian, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged." Pete answered with a sheepish smirk in his partners' direction.

"Stop and call her. You'll feel better…trust me."

Pete thought back to several years ago when Jim was the expectant father in the squad car. "Yeah, maybe I will. There's a payphone just up the block; I'll stop there."

Driving just a short distance further, Pete pulled over and exited the car, going straight to the phone booth. Having learned the ropes from when Jim was waiting on Jimmy to be born, he had a pocket full of dimes all ready to use. He deposited one and dialed his house and then waited.

Jillian answered on the fourth ring, "Hello, Pete."

"Hi Sunshine. Everything okay? How are you feeling? And how did you know it was me?"

"Yes, everything is okay and other than a slight backache, I'm fine. As for knowing it was you, that was process of elimination."

Pete laughed and asked, "How so?"

"Momma has already called this morning; your mom has already called this morning…twice; and Jean and I just got off of the phone a few minutes ago. April called me earlier, and even Leah had to check up on me. Every time I try to finish mopping the kitchen, the phone rings!"

"Sunshine, you shouldn't be doing that. Sit down and relax, will ya?"

"Pete, I'm fine. Besides, if I keep moving, my back doesn't hurt as much. Sitting is very uncomfortable when you're a big as a beached whale!"

Laughing at her description of what she thought she looked like, he asked her, "What about the leg and hip pain? Doesn't pushing a mop aggravate it?"

"Pete, we gotta go!"Jim hollered through the window.

"Once in awhile, but…" the rest of her sentence was cutoff abruptly.

"Sunshine, gotta go; I'll call later; love ya." Pete quickly said, then hung up, jumping into the drivers' seat.

"What do we got?" Pete asked as he buckled up and started the car.

"Another hold up just happened; the Dairy Queen, right next to the liquor store that just got hit. Go figure."

"Guess he figured we'd leave the area since he already hit around there." Pete mused, as he pulled out into traffic.

By the time they had gotten to the Dairy Queen, the suspect had already fled the area. The description given by the frightened teenager matched the description of the liquor store suspect, but again, no vehicle description could be given. Pete and Jim scoured the area and then went back to take the report.

Once again after Pete and Jim finished gathering the necessary information for their report, they continued to cruise their beat, keeping a keen lookout for anyone matching the description of the hold up suspect.

"I'm going to pull over up here and call Jillian back. I had to hang up on her quite abruptly."

"Yeah, sure Pete, no problem. Hey, did she say if she has talked to Jean today?"

"She did…earlier this morning; why?"

"Oh I was just wondering how Jimmy is feeling. He woke up with a little fever in the middle of the night."

Pete pulled over by the curb, next to phone booth. He dug into his pocket and handed Jim a dime, "Here, you go call Jean first and find out about Jimmy."

"No Pete, go ahead…"

"Jim, don't argue with me, after all, I'm the senior guy in this car…besides, as Jillian tells me all of the time, you won't win."

Jim laughed, took the dime, and jumped out of the car. A few minutes later he hopped back in, "Well, Jimmy is still not feeling well; Jean said that he threw up after breakfast. Glad I'm at work."

Now it was Pete's turn to laugh. "That's really bad, Jim."

"Yeah, well you just wait; kids can really puke a river when they don't feel good…and it is nasty!"

Pete wrinkled his nose, "I guess I hadn't thought about that…gross."

"Yeah, it is…now, go call Jillian while I see if we are clear for seven."

Pete got out of the car and took his turn in the phone booth. He waited patiently as he listened to the phone ringing on the other end. _…four…five…six…seven_, the phone continued to ring. _I wonder where she is…maybe she took scrappy outside for a little fresh air...or maybe she's lying down and resting._

Pete got back into the car; he had a concerned look on his face.

"What's wrong, Pete."

"Hmm?"

"You're a million miles away again."

"Oh, it's nothing, I'm sure. Jillian didn't answer the phone; she's probably just lying down. Did Jean say if she talked to her again after this morning?"

"No, but then I didn't ask…I was just worrying about Jimmy. Do you want me to call her back?"

"No, that's not necessary; I'm sure everything is okay. If it weren't, she would've called the station and they would have gotten me over the radio. Where are we going for lunch?"

"They just cleared us before you hung up the phone. How about Dukes?"

"Sounds good, Jim…I'm starved."

* * *

"OH!" Jillian exclaimed loudly as she bent over to lift the bucket of dirty mop water so that she could dump it into the toilet. Forgetting about the bucket, she grabbed her lower back and slowly tried to straighten herself into a standing position. That only proved to make matters worse. The pain was like a vice grip that started on one side and tightened it's way around her midsection.

_Oh boy…This may be it. I have to call the station; no, I don't want to call yet…I probably just bent over too fast. I'll wait a little bit and see how I feel. _Just as suddenly as it had come on, the pain began to subside, and Jillian continued with what she was doing.

A few minutes later, having finished the mopping and emptying of the mop bucket, Jillian took the bucket and mop and headed for the utility closet to put the items away. Just as she opened the door, another pain waved over her, again starting on one side of her lower back and tightening it's way around her midsection. _OH! Maybe I'd better call the station as soon as this pain passes. _Pretty sure that she was probably in the early stages of labor, Jillian waited as the pain eased away and then started toward the living room so that she could call the station. After a couple of steps, that annoyingly agonizing pain that she'd been dealing with for a couple of months, shot down through her right hip and down into her leg, causing her leg to give out on her. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Jillian let out a small scream and slid down the wall so that she was in a sitting position on the floor. _Great…just what I need right now! I should have taken Pete up on his offer to stay home!_

While she was sitting there, the phone rang. Trying to get up was a challenge that she was not ready for. Jillian leaned forward and started to get up when another wave of pain overtook her; again, like a vice-grip, this time bringing tears to her eyes. _Oh Pete…I wish you were here…why didn't I just jump at the chance for you to stay home today!_

_*****************_

_I wonder why she's still not answering? _Pete hung up the payphone that was inside of Duke's restaurant and walked back to the booth that he and Jim were sharing. He sat down, smiling at the waitress as she placed their food on the table.

"Anything, yet?" Jim asked.

"Nope…it's still ringing off of the hook."

"Well, let's go over there and check on her…after all, it's in our beat."

"She's probably just out with the cat; she likes to take him out and walk him around in the grass once in while."

"Doesn't he try to hop the fence and run away?"

"Nope…she usually keeps a leash on him."

"Say, what?"

"You heard me right the first time…she keeps him on a leash when he's outside."

Jim could barely contain his laughter as he asked, "I suppose you take him out on the leash, too?"

"Well yeah! Jillian would have my hide if I let that little bugger get away…the last time that happened, we spent over a half hour trying to coax him down out of the tree."

Jim covered his mouth and continued to laugh as he pictured Pete walking the cat around on a leash.

"Stop it!"

Choking back a laugh, "Stop what?" Jim asked as innocently as possible.

"Stop laughing at the picture you are conjuring up in your head."

"Believe me, Pete, there's nothing in my head!" Jim countered with a laugh.

"You said a mouthful there, partner." Pete muttered under his breath.

"What was that Pete?" Jim asked, biting into his loaded Buffalo Burger.

"I said, don't talk with your mouth full, partner."

"Oh…I wasn't…was I?"

"Jim, just eat, okay?" Pete rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich.

*****************

_I've gotta get to the phone; these contractions are coming on hard and fast! _Jillian had managed to get into a stooped over standing position and was inching her way towards the living room in between contractions. It was a slow process, but a steady one, for which she was glad.

Shuffling slowly through the kitchen, Jillian suddenly felt a warm rush of liquid as another contraction grabbed a hold and doubled her over, leaving her momentarily breathless and unable to do anything more than tightly grip the kitchen chair to keep from falling. _Oh my God…my water just broke….I gotta get help; I can't have this baby here at home…I can't have this baby alone!_

******************

Pete and Jim finished their lunch, paid their bill and left Dukes a short time later. Jim called in that they were going to be on a welfare check at Pete's address, bringing a curious Mac onto Tac 2 for them.

"Is Jillian in labor, Pete?" Mac inquired. The officers could hear the excitement in his question.

Jim had flipped to Tac 2, as well, and replied, "Not sure at this time, Mac. We've been having trouble reaching her by phone so we are going to swing by and check on her."

"Roger that, Jim…keep us posted."

"We'll do, Mac. 1 Adam-12, out and switching back to Frequency 1."

Jim glanced at Pete and the worried look on his face spoke volumes. "I'm sure she's fine, Pete…slow down just a little, you're slightly over the speed limit."

Pete glanced down at the speedometer and realized that Jim was right. "Sorry." He muttered. _Okay, Pete, get a grip! You aren't going to do Jillian and the baby any good if you get yourself killed! Not to mention if you get Jim hurt, Jean will kill you herself! _Pete silently chastised himself and slowed the squad car to the legal speed limit.

Pulling up in front of his house a few minutes later, Pete barely had the car in park before he was out and bounding up the front steps. Jim was on his heels.

"It's locked;" Pete supplied, as he tried the doorknob. Taking out his key, he unlocked the door and he and Jim went in.

"Sunshine?" Pete yelled, not seeing Jillian.

"Pete?" Came the weak and scared, pain-filled voice from the other room. "Help me, Please! I think the baby is coming!" She was bordering on hysterics by this time.

Rushing into the kitchen, Pete paled instantly when he saw his wife stooped over, tightly gripping the chair, puddle at her feet and tears streaming down her cheeks. Immediately he scooped her up into his arms and carried her toward the door. "C'mon Sunshine, let's get you to the hospital."

"I'll lock up while you get her settled in the car." Jim said. He figured they would be lucky if they made it to the hospital in time.

Pete gently placed Jillian in the back seat of the squad car as Jim came up behind him. "I'll drive, Pete." Jim offered, as Pete was still bent over and reassuring Jillian in the back seat. She held tightly to his hand and was in the middle of another granddaddy of a contraction.

"No Jim, I got it; just get in and have dispatch call Rampart and give them a heads up that we are on the way."

Jillian, wanting Pete near her, suddenly reached out and grabbed a handful of uniform shirt and through gritted teeth, she hissed, "If you know what's good for you, Pete Malloy, you will _give_ him the keys and let him drive!"

Pete couldn't help but smile a bit, "Yes Ma'am…whatever makes you happy!" Sliding into the back seat next to Jillian, Pete protectively put his arms around her and held her close as Jim got in and started toward Rampart.

It tore at Pete's heart to see his wife in such pain and he felt every contraction with her as he watched her face scrunch up as each one hit. "C'mon Sunshine, breathe…just like your books said to…"

The ride to Rampart wasn't long, but to Pete and Jillian, it seemed like an eternity. Even Jim had broken out into a sweat with each painful moan that Jillian let out. He knew that Pete had delivered a baby before, but he didn't want him to have to deliver his own child, and certainly not in the back end of the cruiser. Too many things could go wrong.

As they pulled up to the emergency entrance at Rampart, Dixie and an orderly were waiting with a wheelchair. Jim got out and ran around to the rear passenger side, opening the door so that Pete could get Jillian out. Placing her in the wheelchair, she was whisked off into Treatment Room 3 while Pete was detained at the nurses' desk to give the necessary information. Jim stood helplessly by, waiting and offering moral support to his partner, who looked pale enough to pass out.

Hurrying through the necessary paperwork, Pete could hear Jillian just down the hall. He saw Dr. Early go into the room. Thrusting the papers toward the nurse at the desk, Pete headed for the treatment room and barreled through the door.

"Out, Pete Malloy…you're not scrubbed or gowned!" Dixie ordered, as she forcefully pointed toward the door,

"_NO,_" Jillian cried, "I need him here…" Then turning pleading eyes on Dr. Early, she said, "Please Dr. Early…I'm scared…please…I want Pete in here."

Dr. Early studied the young lady briefly; he could see that she was scared and over his shoulder he told Dixie to get Pete scrubbed and gowned ASAP.

Feeling the next pain coming on, Jillian held her breath and gritted her teeth. She was scared and exhausted and glad that she was in the hospital, but she still wanted Pete there with her.

"Okay, Jillian, this little one wants out so with the next contraction, go ahead and give a big push. Let's get this little one born." Dr. Early's voice was calm and soothing as he spoke to her. When they had brought her into the emergency room, she was fully dilated and the baby's head had begun to crown.

Realizing that she and Pete were mere minutes away from becoming parents, Jillian was wishing that Pete were in there with her. She knew her husband well enough to know that he was probably chomping at the bit to get in there as well.

Suddenly the door opened and Pete rushed in, wearing a light blue hospital gown over his clothes. He also had on the traditional mask and hair cap that was required wear for the delivery room. The look in his eyes was a mixture of anxiousness and fear.

Hurrying over to Jillian's side, Pete took the nurses' place near Jillian's shoulders. She reached out and grabbed his hand in a death grip as he leaned down and draped his arm over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "It's okay, Sunshine. I'm right here for you. I love you, Babe."

Jillian tightened her grip as the next contraction began to grab a hold, causing a lengthy, hard wave of pain that brought tears to her eyes. "AGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" She screamed and pushed. Barely finished pushing, the next contraction came right on the heels of the last.

"Push, Jillian…." Came Dr. Early's voice. "One more time…that a girl! Good…good."

Jillian squeezed a little harder on Pete's hand; he continued to whisper encouraging words into her ear as he supported her shoulders and back as she leaned into the push that would bring their child into the world.

"Okay, Jillian, just relax now. You did great!" Dr. Early gave her and Pete a wide smile before saying, "Congratulations Mommy and Daddy, it's a little girl!" Dr. Early didn't have to give the little one the traditional tap on the bottom, as soon as she was out she let out an earsplitting wail that brought a big smile to the faces of everyone in the room when Dr. Early said, "…and she's got her Daddy's lungs!"

Jillian had tears in her eyes and when she looked up at her husband, she noticed the glistened look in his eyes, as well. He bent down and kissed her tenderly, "We've got a little daughter, Sunshine. I can't even put into words how I feel right now." Pete's emotions were a mixture of awe and happiness as he declared, "I love you Sunshine."

The nurse had taken the baby and wrapped her in a warm receiving blanket, then briefly gave the happy new parents a quick peek before whisking the little one away so that she could be measured, weighed, and cleaned up.

"A baby girl! Oh Pete, I love you too! We are so blessed."

"Have you two picked out a name for your little bundle?" Dixie asked.

Pete looked at Jillian; they hadn't settled firmly on any one particular girls' name; Jillian had been sure that she was probably having a boy. "No…we didn't really talk about girl names."

"Well you'd better start talking, because this little girl won't want to go through life being called 'Pete Jr.'" Dixie teased.

"Sunshine?" Pete questioned.

"Clara…Clara Rose Malloy." Jillian answered.

Pete smiled, "Clara Rose Malloy…I like that, Sunshine."

"So will your Mom."

Pete's smile got a little bigger, "Yeah…she will, won't she." Pete knew that his mom, Claire, would love having her first grandchild named after her.

The nurse had finished cleaning up the baby and brought her over to the proud parents, placing her in Jillian's arms. "Here you go…little Clara Rose wants to meet her mommy and daddy, in person."

Pete and Jillian gazed down at their beautiful little daughter, all 5 ½ pounds and 18 ¾ inches of her. "Look Sunshine, she's got dark hair like you."

"Yeah, but if you look really close, you can see just a shade of auburn…we may end up with a little red-headed beauty when she's a little older."

"Well, dark hair or red, one thing's for sure…she's a beautiful little thing, just like her mommy." Smiling broadly, Pete bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his daughter's forehead. There was no doubt in his mind that life was good and that he and Jillian had been blessed with a little miracle.

The End!

I hope you have enjoyed this latest tale…now it's time to give this happy little family a break for awhile…not to mention that I need a bit of a break, as well. Thanks to all who have taken the time to read and review the stories in the Pete and Jillian series. Keep an eye out for future stories.


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